Stuff happens. Getting a divorce?

Short answer: the house is sold, one spouse buys out the other, or you both keep it for a set time. Whichever plan you choose ends up in your written agreement or a court order.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your attorney and CPA advise on your case.

For most couples the house is the largest thing they own together. It also carries the largest debt. That makes every decision about it feel heavy, even when the two of you agree on the plan.

This page walks through the whole process in order. It covers the three paths and how California law sorts property. It explains what you can and can't do while the case is open and how to price the home so both of you trust the number. Then it works through a buyout with real math, getting a name off a loan, the tax rules and closing. Each legal point names the official source it comes from, so you and your attorney can read it yourselves.

We stay neutral. We don't represent one spouse against the other, and we don't decide how anything is divided. That belongs to your agreement, your attorneys or mediator, and the court. What we do is give both owners the same information and keep the house moving toward whatever plan you choose.

Short answer: a house bought during the marriage is generally community property, a house owned before the marriage is generally separate property, and many homes end up part of each.

California Family Code section 760 says that, except as a statute provides otherwise, property acquired by a married person during the marriage while living in California is community property. Family Code section 770 says separate property includes what a person owned before marriage. It also includes what they received by gift or inheritance during it.

The California Courts Self-Help Guide explains how a home can become a mix of both. In its example, one spouse uses money earned before the marriage for the down payment, so the down payment is separate property. The couple then makes mortgage payments with money earned during the marriage. The equity built by those payments is community property. The guide calls that mixing commingling.

The same Self-Help Guide says that, in general, a judge orders each spouse to keep their separate property and divides community property equally. Family Code section 2550 sets that equal division rule. The Self-Help Guide adds that you and your spouse can agree to a different split if you both think it's fair.

Family Code section 2640 matters for many houses. It says a spouse who traces contributions back to a separate property source is generally reimbursed for them, unless that right was waived in writing. Contributions under that section include down payments, improvements and payments that reduce loan principal. Interest, maintenance, insurance and property tax payments don't count.

How title is held matters too. The Summons used to start a California divorce, Judicial Council form FL-110, warns that property acquired during marriage in joint form is presumed to be community property when it is divided in a divorce.

These rules are the starting point, not the answer for your house. Your attorney decides how they apply to your facts, your dates and your records. We use whatever division they give us.

Short answer: a few California rules can move money between spouses before the equity is split. They cover separate money put into the house, a home owned before marriage, mortgage payments after separation and living in the house alone. Your attorney raises each one in the case, and each one rises or falls on records.

None of these happen automatically. They become part of your written agreement, or your attorney asks the court for them. Our part is making sure the house records and numbers are ready when they are needed.

Separate money you put into the house (Family Code section 2640)

Separate property includes money you had before marriage and gifts or inheritances. If you put it toward the down payment, improvements or principal on a community home, Family Code section 2640 generally lets you be reimbursed. You have to trace the money back to that separate source. The right can be waived in writing.

The reimbursement is paid without interest or adjustment for inflation. It can't be more than the property's net value at the time of division. Interest, maintenance, insurance and property tax payments don't count.

A home one spouse owned before the marriage (Moore/Marsden)

Sometimes one spouse owned the house before the wedding, and the loan was then paid down during the marriage with community earnings. Attorneys call the rule for this Moore/Marsden, from In re Marriage of Moore (1980) and In re Marriage of Marsden (1982). In general the community earns a share of the home in proportion to the principal it paid down. That share includes part of the appreciation during the marriage. Only principal counts, not interest, taxes or insurance. The math is specific to each home, so your attorney or a forensic accountant runs it.

Paying the mortgage after separation (Epstein credits)

After the date of separation, your earnings are generally your separate property. If you use them to pay a community debt like the mortgage, you can ask to be reimbursed. Attorneys call this an Epstein credit, from In re Marriage of Epstein (1979). The court decides whether to allow it and how much. It can be denied, for example when the payments were really a form of support or when you agreed they wouldn't be repaid.

Living in the house alone (Watts charges)

Here is the other side of that coin: a spouse who has exclusive use of the community home after separation may be charged for that use. The charge is usually measured by what the home would rent for, and the community's share of it. Attorneys call this a Watts charge, from In re Marriage of Watts (1985). Epstein credits and Watts charges are often weighed against each other. A spouse who paid the mortgage while living there alone may find the two largely offset.

Changing whose property it is (transmutation, Family Code section 852)

Spouses can change separate property into community property, or the reverse. Family Code section 852 says that change, called a transmutation, isn't valid unless it is in writing with an express declaration. The spouse whose interest is hurt by it has to make it or agree to it. California courts read "express declaration" strictly. The writing has to say plainly that ownership is changing, and a spoken promise isn't enough.

It cuts the other way too. A deed you signed between spouses, including one a lender asked for during a refinance, can count as that writing. And because spouses are fiduciaries to each other under Family Code section 721, a transaction that gives one spouse an advantage over the other can get extra scrutiny from the court.

What strengthens a claim

• A paper trail. Keep statements that show separate money leaving a separate account and arriving at escrow or the contractor.
• Separate accounts kept separate. Money that stayed in an account in your name alone is easier to trace.
• Dates. Note your date of separation and the date of each payment and improvement.
• Raising it early. Tell your attorney at the start, so the claim is part of the disclosures and the negotiation.

What sinks a claim

• No records. Saying you put your savings into the down payment isn't tracing. Without statements, a claim can be hard to prove.
• Commingling. Separate money deposited into a joint account and mixed with paychecks can become hard or impossible to trace.
• A signed waiver or deed. A written waiver of a section 2640 right, or a deed that changed title, can undo a claim you thought you had.
• Waiting. Old statements get harder to find, and a claim raised late is harder to fit into a settlement.
• Acting alone. Stopping the mortgage to make a point, moving money between accounts or locking the other owner out can break the court's orders or the law. Talk to your attorney first.

A hypothetical, with made-up round numbers

Spouse A put $50,000 from an inheritance toward the down payment and has the statements to trace it. If section 2640 applies, that $50,000 comes off the top before the rest of the equity is split. Now picture the same inheritance deposited into the joint checking account first and spent from there over several years. Tracing it could be much harder.

Short answer: yes, many couples do, but once a case is filed you need either the other spouse's written consent or a court order to sell.

The Summons (Family Law), Judicial Council form FL-110, carries standard family law restraining orders on its second page. One of them bars each spouse from transferring, encumbering, concealing or in any way disposing of any property without the other party's written consent or a court order. It covers real and personal property. The form makes exceptions for the usual course of business and the necessities of life. Your attorney tells you whether either one applies to your situation.

The front page of the same form says these orders are effective against both spouses until the petition is dismissed, a judgment is entered or the court makes further orders. Family Code section 2040 is one of the statutes the form cites.

In plain terms, a sale while the case is open needs both of you on board in writing, or a judge's order. The attorneys usually put the agreement to sell in writing. It often covers the list price, who handles what and how the proceeds are held. The same order lists encumbering and hypothecating property, and a new loan puts a lien on the house. Talk to your attorney before applying for a refinance or any new loan on the house while the case is open.

Selling before the judgment can stop the shared payment sooner and turn a house into cash that is easier to divide. Waiting can make sense when the division isn't settled yet. Your attorneys weigh that timing. We build the listing calendar around their answer.

Short answer: when both of you are on title, both of you usually sign and approve the price and every offer, and a court can step in when you can't agree.

When both of you are on title, expect both signatures on the listing agreement, any price change, each counteroffer and the escrow papers. Neither spouse can change the price or accept an offer alone. Family Code section 1102 also generally requires both spouses to join in signing a sale or loan on community real property, even when only one name is on title. Your attorney confirms who has to sign in your case.

Most disagreements are about numbers. The list price, which repairs to do and whether to take a particular offer come up most. The best tool for those is shared information. One pricing report, one repair list with costs and one offer summary go to both of you at the same time. When both owners see the same facts, the disagreements often get smaller.

When they don't, the court can decide. Either spouse can ask the judge, through their attorney, for an order about the sale.

In rare cases a spouse won't sign a document a court has already ordered. The Superior Court of California, County of Tulare, explains this on its Elisor Signing Information Sheet. The court can appoint the Clerk of the Court, or the clerk's designee, as an elisor to sign a deed or legal document for a party who cannot or will not sign. The sheet cites Code of Civil Procedure section 128(a)(4) and says the request starts with a Request for Order, form FL-300. Procedures vary by county, so your attorney handles this step with your own county's court.

Our part in a disagreement is limited and neutral. We provide the market facts and the paperwork. We don't take a side on how the house should be divided or who is right.

Short answer: the spouse keeping the house pays the other their agreed share of the equity, usually with a new loan large enough to pay off the old loan and fund that payment.

A worked example with made-up numbers

These numbers are illustrative only. They are round figures for teaching the math, not a price for any home in our area.

• Agreed price of the home: $600,000
• Balance on the current loan: $250,000
• Equity: $600,000 minus $250,000 = $350,000
• If the equity is all community property and split equally, each share is $175,000

To keep the house, Spouse A needs to pay off the $250,000 loan and pay Spouse B $175,000. A new loan of about $425,000 would cover both, before closing costs on the new loan. On a $600,000 home, $425,000 is roughly 71% of the price. Whether a lender approves that depends on Spouse A's income, credit and debts, and on the lender's own appraisal.

What changes the math

• A separate property claim. If one spouse used separate money for the down payment, Family Code section 2640 may give that spouse a reimbursement before the rest is split. Your attorneys decide that figure.
• Payments since separation. Who paid the mortgage after you separated can affect the final accounting. That is an attorney question.
• Other assets. Sometimes the buyout is offset with retirement funds or savings instead of cash, which lowers the new loan.
• No sale costs. A buyout skips commissions and other costs of a sale. If you sold instead, those come out before the equity is divided. At the same price, each share of a sale is smaller than the same share in a buyout.

Run your own payment scenarios with our mortgage calculator. To estimate the property tax on the home, see the Sacramento property tax calculator.

Short answer: often, but the lender looks only at that spouse's income, credit and debts. Check it before anyone negotiates around keeping the house.

Two incomes may have qualified for the original loan. The new loan has to work on one. That is the point where many buyout plans succeed or stall, so we look at it first.

Support payments can count as income

Alimony and child support can count toward qualifying in many loan programs. Section B3-3.4-02 of the Fannie Mae Selling Guide covers this, in the version published October 7, 2026. It says the lender needs proof of the amount and terms. A divorce decree or separation agreement is one example. The section also requires a minimum six-month history of full, regular and timely payments. The income must also be expected to continue for at least three years from the application date. For a separated borrower, the same section says the lender should not count proposed or voluntary payments unless a separation agreement specifies them. FHA, VA and other programs set their own rules, which we review with you.

Timing matters here. If support was ordered recently, the six-month history may not exist yet. That can shape when the refinance happens.

The equity buyout loan

Fannie Mae has a specific rule for this. Its Selling Guide section B2-1.3-02 covers a refinance that buys out another owner's interest after a divorce settlement, for example. It treats that loan as a limited cash-out refinance if the home was jointly owned for at least 12 months before the new loan funds. All parties must sign a written agreement stating the terms of the transfer and how the loan proceeds will be used. The guide says the spouse who gets sole ownership may not receive any of the proceeds. That spouse must also qualify under Fannie Mae's underwriting guidelines.

How we help on the lending side

Maggie B. Hopkins is a mortgage broker as well as a real estate broker. She can shop the buyout loan across a network of approved lenders and lay it next to the sale numbers. Maggie handles the loan herself and works with the team on the sale, which is a real convenience when two schedules are involved. Give yourself options before anyone decides. Compare our quote with any other, and either spouse is free to use any lender. To talk about a buyout loan, call Maggie directly at (916) 549-3131 or read our refinance page. We don't quote rates on this page, because a real quote depends on your file.

Short answer: a transfer between spouses in a divorce is usually done with an interspousal transfer deed that matches your judgment or written agreement. How you hold title today affects what happens if one of you dies before the house is divided.

Three common deeds

• Interspousal transfer deed. It is a deed from one spouse to the other. It is common in California divorces because it can state the transfer tax exemption and the property tax exclusion right on the document.
• Quitclaim deed. It gives up whatever interest the signer has, with no promises about title. It is sometimes used between spouses as well.
• Grant deed. This is the usual deed in a sale. Under Civil Code section 1113 it carries two implied promises. The seller hasn't already conveyed the property to someone else, and the property is free of encumbrances created by the seller or anyone claiming under the seller.

None of these deeds takes anyone off the loan. See getting the other spouse off the loan. Which deed to use and its exact wording are your attorney's call, and the title company records it.

Transfer tax and property tax

Revenue and Taxation Code section 11927 exempts certain deeds between spouses from documentary transfer tax. It covers a deed that divides community, quasi-community or quasi-marital property as a divorce or legal separation judgment requires. It also covers one made under a written agreement between spouses in contemplation of that judgment. The deed has to carry a signed statement claiming the exemption.

For property tax, Revenue and Taxation Code section 63 excludes transfers between spouses from reassessment, including those under a divorce settlement or decree. The spouse keeping the house generally keeps the current assessed base. A change in ownership report goes to the county with the recorded deed, and the exclusion is claimed there. For more on assessed base, see our Prop 19 page.

How you hold title

Your current deed shows how you hold title. Three common forms for spouses are community property, community property with right of survivorship and joint tenancy. With a right of survivorship, the house passes to the surviving owner at death without probate. Civil Code section 682.1 sets out the community property version.

That can matter during a long divorce. If one spouse dies before the house is divided, the other may receive it. The standard restraining orders under Family Code section 2040 let a spouse end a right of survivorship only if notice of the change is filed and served on the other spouse before the change takes effect. If this is on your mind, ask your attorney early.

For dividing the property, Family Code section 2581 presumes that property acquired during the marriage in joint form, such as joint tenancy, is community property. That presumption can be overcome only in the ways the statute lists, such as a written agreement that the property is separate.

Short answer: whatever your agreement or court order says, and we set up showings and upkeep around it in writing.

Three setups are common, and each one works with a plan.

One spouse still lives there

We agree on showing windows in advance, in writing, with both owners copied. The spouse living there gets notice before every showing. Feedback goes to both owners together. We also agree on what the house needs before photos and who pays for it. That prevents a dispute later over who did the work.

Neither spouse lives there

A vacant house needs care. Someone has to keep the utilities on, the yard maintained and the house checked. We can coordinate those visits and report back to both owners. Staging a vacant home is a cost decision, so we bring both of you a price and let you decide together.

Both still live there

It happens, and it can work. We keep scheduling neutral and send every update to both of you at once. Personal items and paperwork tied to the case should be put away before showings.

A show-ready house looks the same whatever the reason for selling. Rooms are clean and uncluttered, the lights work and small items are fixed. A repair list with prices, ranked by what buyers notice most, lets both of you decide on facts.

Short answer: escrow pays off the loan and the costs of sale, then releases or holds the rest as your signed instructions, agreement or court order direct.

Escrow is a neutral holder. It doesn't decide who gets what. It follows signed instructions. In a divorce sale that usually means one of three things:

• The proceeds are split at closing by a ratio both spouses signed off on.
• The proceeds are held in a trust account, often by an attorney, until the division is final.
• The proceeds are paid as a court order directs.

Your attorneys tell escrow which applies. We make sure escrow has their instructions early, so nothing waits until the last minute. Both owners receive the closing statement showing every payoff and cost.

Each spouse's next home

After the sale, each of you plans your own next step. That planning is separate and private. If either of you wants help buying, we work with each person on their own, with their own budget and their own file. Nothing from one spouse's planning is shared with the other. See our purchase loans page for the financing side. Some people rent for a while first, and that can be a sound choice too.

If Maggie helped you sell or keep a home during a divorce and you'd like to share your story, please tell us through our contact page.

Short answer: wherever your life goes next.

A house holds a lot: routines, holidays, the spot where the couch always sat. Letting it go, or keeping it on your own, can feel like the end of something. It is also the start of the next place you'll call home.

As Maggie puts it, wherever your belongings are becomes your home. That might be a smaller place or a rental for a while. It might be the same house in one name, or somewhere new. Each of those can be the right answer. What matters is choosing it with clear numbers and a plan you understand.

When you're ready to talk it through, we're here, with calm, plain answers and no pressure.